Nations League: the Blues and Portugal back to back
Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo wrestling with Frenchman Paul Pogba on October 11, 2020 at Stade de France.
Gonzalo Fuentes / Reuters
Text by: Nicolas Bamba Follow
5 mins
No winner on Sunday 11 October between the France team and the Portuguese selection, who faced each other in the context of the third day of the League of Nations (0-0).
The world champions and the European champions could not find the fault.
The two teams remain neck and neck at the top of Group 3 (League A), pending the next meetings and in particular their reunion in Lisbon, mid-November.
Publicity
Read more
The last time France and Portugal met at the Stade de France was in July 2016. A bad memory for the Blues, who lost to the Selecçao (1-0 after extra time).
A setback very difficult to cash for the selection tricolor, at home, in the final of the Euro.
Two years later, the band at Didier Deschamps returned from their trip to Russia with the World Cup in their luggage.
And this October 11, 2020, therefore, the world champions and the European champions met, a little more than four years after their last face-to-face.
Beautiful people, but the first 45 minutes without relief
The framework, this Sunday, was much less flashy than in 2016. This time, it was “only” a match of League of Nations (League A, group 3), recent competition and much less coveted (it replaces, in a way, the usual international friendly matches).
And due to the measures taken in the face of the coronavirus epidemic in the country, there were only a thousand spectators in the stands of the Stade de France.
But for competitors like Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé, Joao Félix, Antoine Griezmann, Bernardo Silva, Paul Pogba, Pepe, Raphaël Varane etc, there is no question of neglecting such a poster.
Especially when the first place in group 3 is at stake. The first act was not however particularly exciting between the two teams: a single shot on target (for France), an intervention in extremis by Lucas Hernandez in the feet of Cristiano Ronaldo, more control on the Portuguese side ...
#FRAPOR @KMbappe 🇫🇷 @Cristiano 🇵🇹 #Respect #NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/lzD2sUaSuJ
Nations League 🇫🇷 (@ EURO2020FR) October 11, 2020
The Blues better in the second half, Pepe frustrated
After the break, the Blues showed a better face, more turned to the offensive.
With a more mobile Kylian Mbappé, an Antoine Griezmann more inspired in his role as a leader and a Paul Pogba more leggy in the midfield, the France team set foot on the ball and settled in half of visitors' ground.
A slight domination, however, remained sterile against a good Portuguese defense and a Rui Patricio well focused on his few interventions.
In a meeting that is not very open and hooked, set pieces can be decisive opportunities.
And this is what almost tipped the scales in favor of the Lusitanians: in the 73rd, a coup France by Raphaël Guerreiro found the victorious head of Pepe.
But the defender saw his goal invalidated due to offside (confirmed by the cameras).
The Portuguese Joao Felix in the middle of the French Adrien Rabiot and Benjamin Pavard.
Gonzalo Fuentes / Reuters
A "final" in Lisbon on November 14?
The nets did not shake in Saint-Denis, despite final opportunities on both sides in the last moments.
Both teams remain at the top of Group 3, with an advantage in Portugal on goal difference.
Cristiano Ronaldo, the man with 101 international goals, has still not scored against the Blues in five confrontations, while goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has become the third most capped Blue in history with 117 caps (behind Lilian Thuram, 142 capes, and Thierry Henry, 123 capes).
Halfway through, the two selections are well on their way to compete for the first qualifying place for the final phase of the League of Nations, in which the Portuguese are the title holders.
Sweden and Croatia have not said their last word, but it is quite possible that Portugal-France scheduled for Lisonne on November 14 will act as the “final” of the group.
GROUP RANKING 3 AFTER THREE DAYS
1) Portugal, 7 points (+5 diff)
2) France, 7 points (+3 diff)
3) Croatia, 3 points (-4 diff)
4) Sweden, 0 point (-4)
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Sports
Soccer
France
Portugal